Wishes and Dreams
by MusicMelody'Tude
Summary: This is a Stella-Brandon story. It's narrated by Stella and I hope you guys like it! Please review! (Previously Just Another Chick-Flick). Rated T for sexual references. Hints of MusaXRiven and FloraXHelia
1. Oh, yeah? Yeah!

RIIIIIINNNNGGGGGG!

Ugh. What a racket. My alarm was going off and my brain felt like it was going to explode. Boy, do I hate Mondays!

I got out of bed and reached into my closet for clothes. I settled for some skinny jeans that were ripped at the knees and a plain cream colored sweater. I paired it with some hoop earrings and Uggs. It's pretty cold outside... I got my favorite scarf out and jumped in the shower. I had a nice hot bath and styled my hair into a high ponytail and got dressed. I ran downstairs.

"Morning mom, morning dad." I smiled.

"Morning, sweetie." Dad smiled from his paper.

I poured myself a glass of juice and my mom served me pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup. My fave!

I gulped my food down, grabbed my phone and my bag and popped on my headphones kissed my mom goodbye and headed out.

I hopped in my car and backed it out of the garage. My car's a cherry red convertible and it's gorgeous! I stopped by Musa's to pick her up.

I swear, I love my car but Musa literally worships it.

She hopped in next to me. She popped in one of her CDs in the car stereo. That girl's got some serious talent!

"So... Stell, have you heard the news?" Musa asked.

"What news? OMG, wait did someone ask you out?! Tell me, who was it? Was it Riven?" I almost shouted in my excitement.

"Calm down, girl! Nobody asked me out. And Riven will probably be the last one to ask me out." She rolled her eyes. "I was talking about Darcy's serious fashion faux-pas." She said.

"Are you talking about the other day when she walked in wearing that tacky cheetah print?!" I asked.

"Yup. That's the one! Did you know the pictures are all over the internet?" She laughed.

"Wow. She had it coming big time." I grinned.

I pulled up at the school parking lot. I opened my door and some idiot almost came and crashed it. "Keep your eyes on the road you little dipshit!" I screamed. I jumped out and grabbed my stuff from the back. I turned to go inside and came nose to nose with Brandon Shields (!). Musa was standing next to me fiddling with her bag and I could tell she was trying hard not to laugh.

Why was she trying not to laugh? I don't know... Let's see, maybe because Brandon Shields is my all time crush! I've been crushing on him since the fourth grade! I'm hopeless, I know. But he's just so amazing, I can't help myself! (FYI, Musa has a major crush on Riven, Brandon's best friend, who was now right in front of Musa)

"Maybe you should look for clearance before you kick open your car door." Brandon said.

I could feel his hot breath on my skin. I shivered at the distance between us (or rather, the lack of it).

"Don't try to pin this on me! You drove in like a maniac!" I said quietly, gritting my teeth. He is such a jerk! Just like all the other jocks. Stupid jocks.

"Oh, yeah?" He asked cockily.

" Yeah." I confirmed and walked away dragging Musa (who was waving goodbye to Riven) leaving him standing there, looking dumb.


	2. Brandon Shields, you are so dead!

"Someone's all sassy today." Musa winked at me as we were got to our lockers and waited for the rest of the Winx (my friends Flora, Aisha, Tecna and Bloom).

"Hey, I was always Queen Sass" I joked.

"Sure, sure." Musa played along.

Musa and I were joking around after that "incident" with Brandon.

So, all of us Winx girls have our eyes on a jock. All of them from the same team, the football team. Well, except for Tecna, that is. Tecna totally digs this guy from her Computers and Technology class. His name's Timmy and he hangs out with jocks, surprisingly enough. The surprising part being the fact that our school is like a real life version of every other High School based Chick Flick (Mean Girls, for example), full of cliques and stuff.

"Hey Stella! Love the look!" Aisha called out as she joined us.

"Thanks. I love your boots!" I said. Aisha has this amazingly sporty style. Her combat boots looked amazing.

Aisha smiled.

"Okay, guess what happened in the parking lot today?" Musa said as the rest of the girls joined us.

I rolled my eyes. Musa was already reliving the incident.

"Whatever, let's get to class." I said as the bell rang.

Musa, Flora and I had first period Biology on Mondays. We split up in groups and went off to our classes.

I walked in and took my seat - in front of Musa with Flora on my right. The warning bell rang. Brandon walked in with his friends Helia, Riven and Sky.

I rolled my eyes and continued reading.

Brandon sat on my left.

I looked at him.

"Hey." He said. I shook my head and got my assignment out. We had this paper on Stem Cells due today. I turned around to ask Musa about her paper when I felt some liquid dripping on my jeans. I whipped my head. Flora had her mouth in the perfect 'O' shape, like a gaping baby owl. I would have laughed at that, if I wasn't burning with rage, anyway.

"Oops, my bad." Brandon smiled and shrugged. He'd tipped Gatorade on my paper. And it was no accident.

"Brandon Shields, you are so dead." I breathed through gritted teeth.

"Really? Then how come I'm still sitting next to you?" He asked infuriatingly.

That was the last straw. I had worked extra hard on that paper and this boy had ruined it in 10 seconds flat. And now he was laughing at me.

I stood up and he looked up at me and got up himself. I slapped him across his right cheek and walked out of class. I heard all of his friends going "Ooooh..." I went to the girls bathroom. I needed to cry out. I can't believe I like this JERK! It's so unfair!

"Stella, sweetie, are you in here?" I heard Flora call out.

And then I came out of the stall and broke down. Musa was there, too.

"I hate him! He thinks he's so it! Aargghh!" I yelled throught my tears.

"Stell, you can't let him get to you like this. He's just another jock. We'll get him back, don't worry."

"Easy for you to say. It isn't YOUR paper that you spent 3 sleepless nights on that got soaked in a matter of seconds just because of some guy." I said. Musa looked a little taken aback. I took a deep breath and sighed "Sorry, Muse... I'm just really annoyed... But you're right. We're not done with him yet."

"Now c'mon, let's get to class. I spoke to the teacher, he said you could print it out and give it to him tomorrow." Flora said.

"Thanks, you guys!" I smiled at my friends.

We hugged and walked into class together.

Flora went in the middle this time.

"I swear, Brandon Shields, by the time I'm done with you you're going to wish you never crossed my path." I whispered to myself.


	3. One Creepy Moment

I waited till Biology was over told my friends I'll see them in the next class and went into the senior girls locker room. My jeans had weird orange stains on them from Brandon's little Not-So-Accidental Accident. That boy ruined my favorite jeans! Why, God? Why? Why is it that I have to be so hopelessly in love with HIM? I went to wash of the sticky liquid from my arms and legs. Once I was done I came out in a towel to change into my spare clothes...

Great! Now my clothes are missing. This sucks... Now, there was only one way my clothes could have gone missing. That's right, it HAD to be Brandon.

"Brandon Shields, get over here this instant!" I heard a small laugh and half walked, half jogged to where it came from. Sure enough, Brandon was standing there with my clothes grinning at me annoyingly.

"Wasn't it enough embarassment for you to get slapped by me in front of the class?" I asked.

"Ever heard of revenge, darling?"

I scoffed. "Darling, eh? Why don't you be a darling and give me my clothes back?"

I tried to sound tough but how can anyone sound tough when you're practically naked and are overed in nothing but a towel?!

And then he did something crazy.

He dropped my clothes on a bench and before I could pick them up, he started moving towards me. I took a step back, he took one forward, I took another step and another and then I felt cold metal on my skin. I was cornered.

"Do you have any idea how hot you look right now?" Brandon whispered, rather seductively.

I held my breath and turned my head away. He had his arms on either side of my head.

I might have been dreaming about this kind of moment between us for like, EVER... But, this was getting a little creepy for me. I ducked under his arm and grabbed my clothes.

"Get out, or I'll scream." I threatened.

"I know you dig me, Stell." He chuckled.

Stell? Seriously? Only my friends call me that... Weirdo.

I glared at him.

"I look forward to seeing you around..." He said as he walked to the door.

"I only wish I could say the same." I spat in a poisonous tone.

**A/N: I know this chapter is quite short compared to the previous chapters but I didn't want to give away too much in one chapter... I'll be posting soon! Stay tuned!**

**By the way, I want to thank all of you for all your good reviews on both my stories so far! I really appreciate it! :) Thanks again. **


	4. It's only the beginning!

Okay... So it wasn't even lunch time and I was already fed up with Brandon.

I'd finally managed to change and rush into my next class which was my art class. Unfortunately, Brandon's in my art class, too. I was sitting at my easel, across the room from him where he was seated next to Mitzi, head cheerleader and big time bitch.

Ms. Sanchez, our art teacher was out sick and our substitute told us to use the class as a study period. I sat with my sketchbook and was sketching some new dress designs when I looked up and noticed Mitzi totally flirting with Brandon. I was burning, literally! I realize that after all that he did to annoy me today, I should probably just mind my own business and all and give up on him but like I've mentioned a million times before, God just likes to play games with me.

I sat there watching them. Brandon was seriously flirting back at her! That's when I saw an opportunity to annoy him and tell her to back off at the same time. I smiled to myself. This was going to be fun!

I got up and walked up to Brandon.

"Baby, it's a free period. What are you still doing, sitting here? Let's go out and have some fun." I winked suggestively.

Brandon looked a little embarassed. Score one for _moi_!

I casually glanced towards Mitzi...

"Oh, hi. I didn't quite see you there... Mitzi, isn't it? I'm Stella, Brandon's _GIRLFRIEND." _I said, not so subtly. I turned to Brandon.

"Come on, hon. Let's get out of here," I smiled. "Buh-bye, Mitzi! It was nice talking to you!"

I literally dragged Brandon out of class and as I did so, I could almost feel Mitzi's eyes burning into the back of my head.

It wasn't until we were two floors down until I let go of his arm.

He stared at me.

"What was that all about?" He asked me in a quiet voice.

"Oh, it was nothing, really... I'm just trying to make your life a living hell, that's all!" I smiled sweetly.

He laughed. "Well, then you should have left me with Mitzi. A pretty girl dragging me down two floors isn't what heaven feels like... Quite the contrary." He said.

"You think I'm pretty, eh?" I winked, not missing a beat.

"Not that YOU'RE pretty or anything." He spat out at the same time.

"Oh, no! Of course not!" I pretended to agree with him.

"Well, anyway... You called me your boyfriend. That means you like me." He sputtered.

"Nope. I said I was YOUR girlfriend... In the sense that YOU like me." I said and flounced off as the lunch bell rang.

That was fun. And to think I'm only getting started! Mwahahahahaha!


	5. A Girl Can Dream!

I was walking toward the cafeteria and thought of how clueless Brandon had been. I'd managed to stump him! And boy, was I proud.

Now... Moving on, I had to do something more... I HAD slapped him, of course. And the entire Biology class had witnessed the incident... But I couldn't help but think of how stupid the boy was. I slap him, hard, in public and he isn't embarassed but then he blushes and squirms in embarassment if I tell Mitzi I'm his girlfriend and drag him out with me? And then he calls me pretty? Now, this makes me suspect that he likes me, even if it's only a litle. He LIKES ME!

Or maybe not. I'm probably just getting way ahead of myself... Hmm... Oh, well! A girl can dream!

I joined my friends at our regular lunch table.

"Hey, girl!" Aisha waved as I walked over to them with my tray.

I grinned.

"Okay, so is it true you dragged Brandon out of art class with you last period?" Musa asked, getting straight to business.

"Say, what?" I was deeply surprised that word had gotten round so fast.

"Mitzi's been telling everyone that you _stole_ her boyfriend." Bloom explained.

"Ohhkaayy?" I said, wide eyed and not quite getting what was going on.

"Mitzi tweeted about you throwing yourself on her boyfriend and dragging him out with you while your art lesson was on today" Tecna chimed.

"What?! Hell to the no, she didn't say that!" I howled and grabbed my phone from my bag.

Yup. She'd tweeted that alright.

"Okay, first of all Brandon doesn't even _like _Mitzi. He practically told me that being with Mitzi was living hell. Secondly, I did NOT throw myself at him." I said and proceeded with explaining what REALLY happened.

"Oh, sweetie we know Mitzi's just being her, erm, usual self. Of course, you didn't do anything close to what she tweeted. You don't have to explain that to _US_." Flora said gently.

"Basically, what Flora is saying is that we all know that Mitzi's a total bitch and you don't have to bother about what SHE thinks, anyway." Musa declared.

I laughed at that. I have GOT to love my friends!

"Thanks you guys."

"So... We get that this was just a Let's-Get-Back-At-Brandon Scheme but this is so not enough." Musa said. Trust her to hold grudges and plan revenge!

"Mmhmm..." I mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"Okay, seriously? I'm planning revenge on Brandon for you and you're stuffing your face? That is just SOOO typical of you, Stell!" Musa threw her hands in the air.

"What? I'm hungry!" I protested.

Musa rolled her eyes.

"Oh. Em. Gee. I just figured it all out! Call me mega genius!" She dramatized.

**A/N: Hi guys! I'm really sorry about cutting all my chapters short but I just feel like if I write even a little more on the topic, I'll give everything away and bore you all to death! Please bear with me... **

**Love, **

**MusicMelody'Tude. xxx**


	6. Earthquake!

Musa's plan worked great for me! We settled on executing it tomorrow. Yup, Brandon sure has it coming!

The rest of the day was a blur. He didn't try anything stupid and well, school was just as boring as it usually is... That is, until there was an earthquake during last people! So we had to follow the usual drill for earthquakes and luckily all of us were alright! I know I'm making it sound all cool when it's so not but, well... At the time the earthquake was scarily exciting. Who new the day was going to get any worse?

Due to the earthquake we were left off 20 minutes earlier than usual. I found Musa and both of us turned home. But then we realized my car had died! Yup! A tree fell over and smashed down the middle of my car like, SMACK! Fortunately, Aisha hadn't left yet and she offered the two of us a ride. We drove off in her metallic blue SUV. We dropped Musa off and drove to my place. And that was when I realized that I didn't have a place anymore.

I rushed out of the car and ran up to my house. It was half crumbled. My room, my home of 17 years. This wasn't happening. I felt tears sting my eyes and blur my vision but I willed myself not to cry. I had to be strong for my parents. Together we'd figure things out.

I ran through the crowd trying to find my mom and dad. An ambulance pulled in the driveway and some paramedics went into the house. They came out with two bodies on gurnies. And then it hit my like lightning, hard and fast. I was an orphan. Aisha was right next to me, she stood shell shocked. I broke down.

Aisha put a comforting arm around me and let me cry on her shoulder.

"Stell, do you want to come home with me?" Aisha asked gently.

I didn't trust myself to open my mouth so I just nodded a little. I motioned for her to wait for me and walked up to my parents' bodies. I knelt down.

"Mom, Dad, remember how I used to have nightmares and you used to sit with me in my room the whole night just so I can get a nice sound sleep? Looks like all that's gone in just a little snap. I can only wish this was just one of those horrible nightmares. I love you guys. So, so much... I promise I'll make you proud. Don't worry about me. I'll figure things out, somehow." I cried and kissed my parents good bye. "Bye." I whispered and stood up.

Aisha walked up to me. "Goodbye, Mr. & Mrs. Solaria, I promise I'll take care of Stella." She said softly.

Then some other people came up to me and gave condolences and offered support. I just took it all in. Then I had to talk to some policemen. My next door neighbors told me to go ahead with school and that they'd take care of the funeral.

"Actually, that's our job." A couple stood there. I looked at them.

"Stella, your parents were our best friends since high school. We owe them this. And... You probably don't know this but we're your godparents. I'm Rob and this is my wife Melanie. We're taking you home with us." They said.

I nodded. "Umm... I'd like to stay at my friend's place for now. We'll work things out after the funeral." I blabbed.

"Sure, honey. Take your time. The funeral will be this Saturday. We'll take care of everything. You just carry on with school, okay?" Melanie said sweetly and smiled at me.

I smiled weakly. My friends were all here. I figured Aisha must have told them.

"Hi, guys." I mumbled as fresh tears rolled down my cheeks. They pulled me into a huge hug and tried to comfort me.

And then Aisha and I drove to her house.

This was seriously the worst day of my life. And I thought Brandon ruining my jeans was awful. I couldn't stop crying. Aisha squeezed my arm and pulled into her driveway.


	7. Oops!

My parents' death was already on the local news. Aisha's parents were really nice. The girls had also come over to Aisha's in an attempt to comfort me. We worked out a plan so that I could spend a day at each of the girls' houses. Aisha's, Bloom's, Tecna's, Flora's and Musa's. I would be going to the funeral with Musa and her parents on Saturday. I didn't have anything with me: No clothes, no resources, no money, nothing! I could only hope for the best.

The whole week passed in a blur. And then came Saturday.

I went to the church an hour before the service began. Rob and Melanie were there. So was Brandon.

"Umm... How are you here?" I asked him.

"I came here with my parents." He shrugged simply.

Rob and Melanie walked up to me.

"I see you two already know each other." Rob said.

"Rob and Melanie are YOUR parents?!" I asked, shocked.

"You guys know each other?!" Brandon looked just as shocked.

"Sure. Stella's parents have been our friends for like, ever!" Melanie put in simply.

"Umm... I really appreciate you taking me in and all but I don't think that's a great idea." I said.

"Nonsense!" Melanie said.

"Wait up! SHE is moving in with us? No way!" Brandon growled. "Why can't she stay with her mommy and daddykins?!"

Ouch. That hurt.

"Because my house is in ruins and my parents are there." I said coldly and pointed at the coffins containing my parents. Tears were pricking my eyes.

Melanie gave him a look. Brandon looked guilty.

I went up to the front and stood for the service. The funeral was over in an hour.

I swear I've cried a lot more in the past week than I have my whole life.

I bumped into someone as I came out. I looked up to see Brandon.

"Sorry." I muttered and continued walking.

Brandon grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.

"What do you want?" I shouted.

"I'm sorry." He said softly and looked into my eyes. "You know... About earlier."

"Oh, it's okay. You didn't know." I said.

"I'm sorry about being a total jerk yesterday. I totally deserved that slap." He sounded so sincere.

I giggled at that. "I'm sorry about that, I was just so stressed..."

"You have no reason to apologize to me." He smiled.

I smiled back. "I have to go now... And... I'll tell Melanie and Rob that I'm not moving in. I'll figure something out."

"No, you're moving in. My mom's already done up your room and all. She's always wanted a daughter, apparently but instead she got me and my brother Samson. Maybe she'll stop complaining about it, now that you're here."

I laughed. "With you for a son I don't blame her for being disappointed." I joked.

Brandon rolled his eyes. But he was smiling ever so slightly.

"I see you two are getting along fine." Melanie said brightly.

"Don't get too used to it." I grinned.

Melanie laughed.

"Are we all ready?" Rob said.

I nodded. Brandon was still holding my hand!

"Umm... Brandon, if you let me go, I'd like to go and say goodbye to Musa and the others."

"Oh, umm... Right... Of course..." He blushed (!). That's the second time I'e seen him blushed. He looks so cute when he blushes! He slowly let go of my hand. It was my turn to blush.

"Hey, Stella! So... Sre you moving in with Rob and Melanie?" Musa asked as she half jogged up to me.

"Mmhmm..." I said.

Musa noticed Brandon. "What are you doing here?! Was he messing with you, Stell? Tell me! And don't even try to defend him! Put your feelings for him aside and tell m- OOPS!" Musa slapped her hands on her mouth.

I turned bright red in embarassment. Brandon looked at me funny.

Moving in with the Shields probably wasn't going to be as easy as I thought it was. Atleast, not anymore!


	8. And I thought you guys hated each other!

I thought I'd _die_ of embarassment! Thank goodness for Melanie, she told me they'd wait outside and give me some time with my friends. Brandon left right behind her.

"Oh, Stella! I am so sorry! I swear, I didn't mean to!" Musa was practically hyperventilating!

By this time the others were also with us and had heard the whole story.

"Look, Muse, it's fine. He was going to find out some day or another, anyway... Don't worry about it." I said.

"Really? Are you sure?" Musa asked. I guess she WAS feeling pretty guilty, and she didn't even know I was moving into his house...

"Sure, I'm sure. Listen, Melanie is waiting for me outside, so I'd better go. I'll give you back your clothes and stuff later, okay? And I'll also come and get my stuff from your house sometime today... I'll catch you guys later!" I said and hugged each one of them goodbye and went to the front.

"Hop in the back with Brandon, sweetie." Melanie called out.

Great. Just my luck.

I got in the car and we drove off to the Shields' place.

We got out and Melanie offered me a change of clothes. I changed into the sundress and tan leather sandals that she gave me.

"Come on, I'll show you around the house and then we'll go out, get your stuff from Musa's and go shopping!" Melanie had said when she gave me my clothes.

I came out of the bathroom in my new clothes.

"Oh, wow! Don't you look pretty!" Melanie exclaimed.

I like Melanie a lot! She's almost like the big sister I NEVER had! She's really pretty and has a great sense of style! Rob's great, too! But he's usually busy with his business and stuff...

Melanie showed me around the house. Oh, my god! Their house is amazing! It's so chic!

We went upstairs and I met Samson, Brandon's younger brother. The kid's only 8 years old, though. And he HATES being called Samson, he prefers Sammy or Sam.

Melanie showed me my room. It's right next to Brandon's room and I am not even kidding when I say my room is Paradise! It's like my dream room, only better!

I hugged Melanie when she opened the door to my room.

"OMG! This is sooo beautiful! I love it! Thank you soooo much!" I squealed in excitement.

Melanie laughed.

I walked around my room. I saw a picture on the bedside table. It was a picture of six people.

"You know, this kid over here looks suspiciously like me, when I was a kid." I commented as she took the picture from me.

"That's because it is, honey." Melanie giggled.

"Say, what?!" I said and grabbed the picture. "Oh, my god! That's you... and Rob and my parents and... wait, is that Brandon?!"

Melanie laughed and nodded.

" You mean, we knew each other when I was like three years old, or something?" I asked.

"Well, yes. We used to spend almost everyday with each other. That's the last picture we took before we moved to Philadelphia for Rob's business partnership... Brandon cried for two whole nights when he realized he wasn't going to be with you anymore..."

I giggled at the thought of Brandon and me as kids.

"We moved back here when Brandon turned 8. But we didn't have much contact with your parents because Rob and I travelled around and Brandon lived here with my mother. And then my mom had a stroke a month ago and she passed, so we moved back here for good..."

"Oh, Melanie, I'm so sorry..." I said.

"It's alright... My mom was getting pretty old. And she was pretty lonely her whole life..." Melanie said.

"Wow. I can't believe I don't remember a single thing about even knowing Brandon until the fourth grade!" I said.

"Well, neither does Brandon. You guys are so much alike... More than you know." Melanie remarked.

"No way! I don't have and won't have anything in common with that jerk! I mean, no offence, but he is so annoying!" I said.

"That's what Luna always said about Radius... And look what happened to them..."

"They died." I said sourly.

"Honey, I meant the part before they died. They fell in love, got married and had you. Your parents were the happiest people I knew..." Melanie said.

"Well, I have no plans of marrying Brandon and having kids with him." I said. But I DO like him... However, that will remain my secret.

"You never know." Melanie mumbled to herself. "Anyway, if you're ready now we can go over to Musa's and go shopping. I'll be downstairs, I'll give you a few minutes in your room." Melanie smiled and went down. I flopped on my bed and sighed. I pulled my phone out and texted Musa saying I was coming over. I turned to get my bag which held the dress I wore to the funeral and saw Brandon. I screamed.

Brandon put his palm on my mouth. I shut up.

"How did you get here?!" I hissed.

"There's a secret door that onnects our rooms together." He explained, pointing to the open door in the wall.

"Not cool. Anyway, what do you want?" I asked.

"Nothing... Just wanted to ask you something." He shrugged.

"Well, I'm busy. And I don't have time for you." I said.

"Really? No time for your crush of 8 years?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows infuriatingly.

"WHAT?!" I yelled.

"I found this adressed to me." He said, waving a piece of paper at me. I lunged forward and grabbed it.

I took one glance at the paper. It was mine. It was a letter that I'd written to Brandon, confessing my feelings for him. I was going to stuff it into his locker sometime in the past week but I hadn't done it with everything that was happening to me.

"How did you get this?!" I demanded.

He chuckled and shrugged.

"Oh, my god! You went through my bag?! You are one privacy-invading annoying brat, you know that?!" I screamed.

I tackled him and he fell off the bed where we were sitting, dragging me down with him. I was on top of him, my hair out of it's bun and spilling out. We were so close. He looked at me and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me... But he just grabbed the letter I still had in my hand. I tried to get it back from him and we rolled on the floor until he was on top of me. That was when Melanie opened the door asking if I was ready yet.

She looked at us, a little surprised and mumbled, "And I thought you guys hated each other."

"Melanie, this is sooo not what it looks like!" I protested.

"Oh, of course not!" Melanie said, disbelievingly.

"Mom, really. This isn't what it looks like." Brandon said getting off of me. I got up and straightened my dress out while Brandon tried to conceal the hidden door that was open.

"If you say so. Shall we leave?" Melanie asked me.

I nodded. My first day with the Shields and it's already getting awkward. NOT a good sign.


	9. I will treasure this forever!

Melanie and I went over to Musa's. The others were there, as well. I introduced them all to each other and we hung out there for a while. Melanie is WAY too cool to be a MOM! In a way, Melanie reminds me of my mom. My mom was more like my sister, too. The two of us used to go shopping together and hit the local Starbucks and gossip. I miss her a lot. I wish I could have had more time to spend with her...

"So, guess what?! Nabu asked Aisha out!" Bloom screamed, cutting off my chain of thoughts.

"Whoa! That's awesome!" I hugged Aisha.

"Are you girls talking about Nabu, the boy from the Football team?" Melanie walked into Musa's room.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Tecna asked.

Uh-oh. I did NOT want my friends to know that I was living with Brandon's family now. Or that Melanie was his mother.

"Stella's told me all about him and the other jocks." Melanie winked at me.

I breathed in relief and grinned.

"Umm... Is that alright? I mean..." I asked Aisha.

"Oh, I don't mind. In fact, maybe Melanie can help me decide which outfit I should wear!" Aisha declared. Phew!

"That's sounds great! But right now I'm taking Stella shopping for clothes..." Melanie smiled.

"Oh, that's cool! Have fun, Stella! We'll drop by sometime." Musa hugged me and led us to the door.

"Bye, guys!" I waved as we pulled away.

We went to all these designer stores, I felt amazing! Melanie practically bought me the entire mall! I had lots of fun trying on clothes and posing while Melanie took pictures of me on my phone. We drove back home after hours of shopping. Boy, was I tired.

I went upstairs and unpacked all my shopping and organized all my things. I was about to go down when someone knocked on the door. It was Brandon.

"What?" I said, annoyed.

"Mom's calling you down for dinner." He said.

"Fine." I slammed the door in his face.

I put my hair up and opened the door. Brandon was still there. I ignored him and went downstairs. I sensed him behind me...

We all sat down for dinner. Melanie is an awesome cook!

"Pass the pasta, please." I said to Brandon. He ignored me.

"Brandon, could you please pass the pasta?" I repeated.

"Oh, sure!" He smirked. I rolled my eyes. Melanie and Rob shared a look.

And then Brandon got up and dropped the pasta all over the front of my dress.

My jaw dropped. What was his problem?! I felt tears spring up but I forced myself to hold them back. I couldn't let him have THAT kind of satisfaction, no matter what.

"Excuse me." I whispered and ran into the kitchen. I leaned against the counter and let my tears pour down. Through the walls I heard Rob shouting at Brandon. Melanie entered the kitchen and helped my get all the pasta out. Then she took me back up to my room to find something else to wear.

"Melanie, maybe I shouldn't be here. It's clear that Brandon doesn't want me here and I don't blame him... I'm basically barging into his life and he's hated me all along, anyway so why should he put up with me?" I gushed.

"Sshhh... Sweetie, Brandon's just finding this a little awkward. He'll get over it... You guys used to be best friends when you were young... I'm sure everything will be fine." Melanie hugged me and kissed me on the forehead. I got up and went to the bathroom to change into a T-shirt and shorts for bed. When I came out Melanie was going through an album, sitting on my bed.

I joined her and looked at the pictures.

"Is that Brandon?!" I asked, pointing to a picture of a little kid wearing adult sunglasses and playing in the water at a beach.

Melanie smiled and nodded. "That was his first time at the beach."

She turned to the next page. "That was after senior prom," She pointed to a picture of herself, Rob, my Mom and Dad. "It was so much of fun... All of us were going to college together in a day and your mother kept trying to get Rob to take me out!" She smiled at the memory.

"You guys look great!" I said.

We flipped throught the album for the next half hour until we reached the last page of the album. It had a full page sized picture of Brandon... And me. I was blushing and smiling at the camera while was Brandon kissing my cheek. I smiled at the picture.

"I can't believe I don't remember any of this. I mean the whole album has pictures of you guys and my family having so much fun and..." I sighed.

Melanie smiled a little. "I'm going down, sweetie. Give me a shout if you need me, okay?"

I nodded.

"Melanie?" I asked.

Melanie looked back at me, "Yes, honey?"

"Can I keep this album?" I asked shyly.

"That album is yours. Your mother made it for us when we were moving away. It rightfully belongs to you..." Melanie looked at me. "Your mother would have wanted you to have it."

"Thank you so much!" I got up and hugged her.

"Good night, Stella!" She laughed and went down.

I went back to my bed and lay down. I opened up the album once again and pored over each of the pictures carefully. I would treasure this album forever!


	10. Wink Wink

I was looking through each picture, trying to remember all the things that the pictures so clearly showed.

Someone was knocking on my door.

"Come in!" I yelled.

The door opened and Brandon walked in. I sat up on my bed.

"Hi..." He said.

I looked at him. "Hi?"

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened at dinner..." He said weakly.

"You don't have to apologize, Brandon. It's my fault. I shouldn't barge into your life like this and I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to meet me and I'm sorry my parent's died, okay?!" I said, exasperated.

Brandon looked stricken, like someone stabbed him. I felt guilty, immediately.

"Brandon, I didn't mean it that way... I-" Brandon held up his hand as if to say stop.

"Stella, just forget what happened, please? You have every right to talk to me like that. I totally deserve it." He said sadly.

I stood up and the album fell off the bed. I moved forward to get it and Brandon did the same. We both ended up bumping our heads.

We laughed awkwardly.

"What is this?" he asked picking up the album.

"An album that my mom made for your mom, who just gave it to me..."I explained.

"Right. Mind if I take a peek?" Brandon asked.

"No, not at all... Go right ahead." He stood in the middle of the room and opened the album.

I jumped on my bed. "You can sit down, you know..." I patted the bed.

He sat down next to me and we flipped through the pages together.

"Do you remember that time when we climbed a tree at the back of the lodge when we were four? You climbed up easily but were scared to get down so I offered to catch you and I ended up fracturing my leg because you jumped into my arms...?" He asked me.

And suddenly it all came to me. All those memories...

"Yeah..." I grinned. "Can I ask you a question?"

Brandon nodded.

"How come nobody else knows about that hidden door between our rooms?" I asked nodding towards the wall where the door was.

Brandon laughed. "I designed it myself. That's how."

I looked at him, my mouth open. That made him laugh harder.

"I did it for you," He said softly. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that" He looked at me and blushed.

"It's okay... Go on... You look cute when you blush, anyway!" I winked.

He blushed deeper. Man, for a tough-guy this boy sure did blush a lot!

"Well anyway, when my parents were away I lived here with my grandmother. This room, that is now yours was something like a forbidden room here. My parents banned me from entering the room because there were all these memories of the past here. I knew my room shared a wall with this room so one summer, when I was twelve there was some renovation going on and I made faked a note asking for a connecting door..." He explained. "Who cares about that door anyway? Let's just appreciate the fact that I can now visit you anytime I want."

"Huh?"

Did he just say what I think he said?!

"What?! Aren't you happy to finally realize that the guy you liked for so long is in love with you?!" He asked me.

"You have got to be kidding me. Is this how you get girls all the time?! Pour pasta all over them, come over to apologize, relive old memories and tell her you love her?!" I demanded.

"I don't know, you're my first."

I shook my head. "Someone pinch me, I HAVE got to be dreaming!"

"I can do something more awakening than pinching." Brandon smirked.

"Uh-huh? What's that then?" I asked.

He just put the photo album on my bedside table and turned to face me.

I raised an eyebrow. "I still think it's a dream, you kn-"

I was cut off by Brandon's lips, crashing down on mine. I lay back on my bed and kissed him back. I've been dreaming about this moment for years and it was finally happening. We kissed and kissed until Sammy walked in on us and screamed, "Stella and Brandon are getting married!"

Brandon and I laughed as Rob carried Sammy out.

"Now, where were we?" Brandon asked me.

"I don't know. But maybe we should lock the door before we resume..." I whispered.

Brandon chuckled.

I got up and went to lock the door. I turned around and saw Brandon opening the secret door to his room. I grinned.

I ran up to him and we kissed our way into his room and onto his bed.

Things were really starting to look up for me. But for now, I'll stick to looking at Brandon. *wink wink*


	11. Dreams DO come true, sometimes

I woke up the next morning on Brandon's bed. I sat up. Oh, my god! I totally, totally kissed Brandon Shields! We'd spent the whole night kissing each other that we fell asleep mid-kiss. I'd woken up in the middle of the night only to pull away from his lips and go back to sleep in a more comfy position! I looked at Brandon who was sleeping next to me.

I kissed him on the cheek and he woke up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up..." I blushed.

He pulled me down and kissed my lips.

"Not early in the morning, grasshopper." I giggled.

"Will you be mine?" Brandon asked wistfully, he sounded half-asleep.

"Oh, I don't know... My boyfriend'll be mad if he finds out..." I joked.

"You have a boyfriend?! Why didn't you tell me?!" He demanded, sitting up.

"I'm a bit of a sucker for kisses." I shrugged, pretending to be embarassed.

Brandon looked really mad. He looked into my eyes.

"Who is this boyfriend of yours?" He said gruffly.

I didn't answer him. Instead I kissed him.

"You, silly!" I smiled as I pulled away from him.

"I knew that." He muttered.

I laughed. "What's the time?"

"Who cares? It's Sunday, anyway."

"I do! I promised the girls I'd go to the beach with them today... And I can't blow them off because Aisha's already done that to go out with Nabu." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Whoa! He asked her out? How? When did this happen?!"

"Yup. Friday, after school. I don't know _how_ but I'm pretty sure it didn't involve Pasta and Tears." I joked.

Brandon looked embarrassed.

"Don't look so embarrassed. Surprisingly, I'm happy that things turned out the way they did... We're one of a kind, you know." I said.

He laughed.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I should sneak back into my room and go out to see my friends." I said and got up.

I went back into my room and grabbed this beach bag that Flora had made for me.

I threw in my sunscreen, shades, phone and earphones. Then I put on my bikini. It was a gorgeous tropical print bikini that Melanie got me yesterday. I threw on some shorts and a see-through swim cover-up dress. I donned some cute sandals and let my hair out. I texted the girls to say that I would be at Flora's in a five minutes and slipped into Brandon's room.

He walked out of the bathroom in just a towel.

"Aren't you gorgeous!" He remarked when he saw me.

I blushed. "I was wondering if you could give me a ride to Flora's."

"Sure... But, wait. Don't you have a car?" He asked, confused.

"I did. My car died the same day my parents did." I explained.

"Stella, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"I'm okay, Brandon." I smiled. He kissed me.

"Now, if you wait in you're room I'll be out in a minute." He said. "Unless, of course, you want some of this." He winked.

"You dirty little thing!" I joked and smacked his hair lightly.

I walked back into my room and put on my floppy hat. Brandon came out wearing a polo and shorts.

"Let's go." He said and kissed my forehead.

We drove over to Flora's. Riven, Helia, Timmy and Sky were already there.

"When did you guys get here?" I asked, a little surprised.

"Oh, Bloom invited Sky, who invited the rest of us..." Helia said.

"Right."

"Umm... Is it just me or did Brandon and Stella really drive in here together?" Musa asked.

"Well... Rob and Melanie are actually Brandon's parents, you know..." I explained.

"You're living with _him_?! Boy, do I pity you." Musa commented.

"Should I be offended?" Brandon asked, but he was grinning.

"Nope. Musa's just being her usual self" I laughed.

"Okay, now I really must be seeing this. Did you two seriously have a friendly conversation? And how come Brandon has his arm around you?!"

"Musa! Don't you get it? They're relationship has moved to the next level... Kind of like ours should be moving..." Riven put his arm around her.

"Oh, wow! Now I'm dreaming! Did Mr. I'm-Too-Cool-Being Tough just hit on Musa?!" Helia joked.

We all laughed. And then Musa kissed Riven.

Wow! This is like, too good to be true. Every one of us is getting what they always wanted! I guess dreams do come true, sometimes...


	12. If you say so

We drove to the beach. The girls and I lay on the sand, sunning ourselves. The boys went into the water. We were listening to music and just chilling. I stood up after half an hour.

"You guys want something? I'm going to go get something to drink." I asked, jerking my thumb in the direction of The Shack, the popular beach-side hangout.

"I'll come with you, I need to stretch my legs, anyway." Flora said.

I smiled.

"Get me a lime refresher, please." Musa said. I nodded.

"I want a blueberry smoothie." Bloom said.

"I'll take a peach iced tea." Tecna said.

"Sure, be right back!" Flora chirped and we turned to go.

"So, what's up?" I asked casually as we walked.

"Nothing." Flora said, a little too quickly.

"Flora, is something wrong?" I frowned. " You can tell me, you know that..."

"Oh, well... It's just that I got this letter this morning... From Yale..." She mumbled.

"Oh, my GOD! Flo, that's GREAT news" I shrieked and tackled her in a bear hug.

Some passers-by looked at me funny.

"Sorry," I mumbled sheepishly. Flora giggled.

"Okay, so how come your acting all upset-ish about that?!" I whispered, trying to shy away from the unwanted attention I'd attracted with my outburst.

"I'm not upset!" She protested.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

I shook my head.

We reached The Shack and gave our orders.

"I'm just going to miss you guys a lot... We've been friends forever and I don't know what I'll do... And then there's Helia..." Flora sighed.

"I know, I know... Hold up! You and _Helia?! _When did this happen?" My eyes wide with surprise.

"Well, after the funeral yesterday Riven and the others came up to us and we were just talking... Musa and Riven have always been pretty close. I mean, Musa's the only girl Riven even talks to! Apart from the rest of us, of course." She babbled. "So, anyway... Yesterday we found out from the guys that Brandon liked you and then well... Riven blabbed about Sky liking Bloom and then it was confessions galore... It was really weird." Flora gushed.

"Wow! All this happened?! Why doesn't anyone tell me anything?!" I wailed and threw my hands in the air.

Flora cracked a smile.

"Okay, so back to you... Have you told him that you're leaving?"

Flora shook her head.

"But you have to... You can't leave him hanging loose." I said.

We paid for the drinks and walked out.

"I know... I just can't bring myself to tell him..." Flora said sadly.

"Listen, if he's waited so long to tell you how he feels about you, he can wait for a while. I'm sure things will work fine. You should go tell him now. If it helps, I'll come with you. You know, moral support." I joked.

Flora grinned. "Thanks Stell! You're right I'll go tell him right now."

"That's my girl!" I cheered and the two of us joined the others laughing.

"Looks like you're having fun without us." Musa remarked.

I grinned and handed out their drinks. The boys were coming out of the water.

"Come ON, Flo! Do it now!" I grabbed her arm and dragged her to where Helia was standing.

"Hey, Helia! Flora has something to say."

"Oh, hi Flora! Listen, I have something to say..." Helia said at the same time.

"Go on!" I whispered to Flora and pushed her towards him.

"Umm... Hi, Helia!" Flora squeaked.

"Hi, look... I know this is sudden but I have to tell you..." Helia began.

"Oh, okay..." Flora said.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay, let me break things down for you two. Helia, Flora is going to Yale. The End!" I blurted.

"Stella!" Flora protested.

"Sorry... I just had to do something." I muttered.

"Wait, you're going to Yale, too?" Helia asked Flora.

"Yeah, but what do you mean by too?" Flora asked, confused.

"I'm got into Yale, too." Helia ran his hand through his hair and shrugged.

"Yay! Two braniacs in love!" Brandon said in a girly way.

I laughed and elbowed him in the stomach.

"Ow! What was that for?!" He demanded.

"Don't ruin the moment for them." I said.

"Mmhmm... So then let's leave them to it and focus on our MOMENT" Brandon said.

Before I new it he scooped me up and was carrying me into the water.

"Brandon! Let me go!" I screeched.

He laughed. "Sorry, but no can do."

"Brandon Shields, put me down this instant!" I shrieked, but I couldn't help laughing.

"If you say so." He shrugged and dropped me into the water.


	13. And the people walk in

I was soaked. I tripped Brandon into the water by sticking my leg out and he fell into the water.

I stood up in the water. He looked up at me in surprise. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Oh, no you didn't." He cocked his head.

"Oh, yes I did!" I grinned and ran away from him.

I could hear him running after me. I laughed and stopped to catch my breath. I felt Brandon's arms around my waist. He started tickling me. I giggled and tried to push him into the water.

"Brandon. Stop. Tickling. Me." I gasped.

I managed to push him away. Unfortunately, he dragged me down with him. We lay there side by side in the water, panting for breath. He pulled me in for a kiss.

"Never, ever, run away from me again." He whispered into my ear.

I shivered at the sensation.

"Hey, you two lovebirds! Let's go!" Musa screamed to us. Riven guffawed.

The two of us got up.

"Race you there." I yelled and took off.

We raced each other to the group.

"So, what are we doing?" Brandon asked the others.

"Well, we decided to go home for a while... We can meet up at Frosty's later and then maybe go skating or something..." Flora suggested.

"Sure, sounds great. So... 3:30 okay?" Sky asked.

We agreed to it and headed back home. I had no idea what I'm going to do. I can't skate! And I just agreed to an evening of skating. Ugh.

"Something bothering you?" Brandon asked.

I shook my head.

"C'mon, spill the beans." He prompted.

"It's nothing." I muttered and picked at a loose thread on my shorts.

"Stella..."

"Oh, fine! You win! I can't skate! Are ya happy now?!" I burst out.

Brandon looked at me for a second and then burst out laughing.

"See? This is why I didn't want to say anything." I huffed and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"Sorry." He muffled his laughter. "It's just that I never thought you'd be worried about not knowing how to skate. I mean, I didn't think you were that kind of girl who cared about what other people thought of her..."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes.

"Listen, I could teach you how to skate." Brandon offered.

"Really?"

"Sure. Stop being a baby about it and come on. We only have a couple hours to kill."

We trudged up the stairs together.

"See you in a bit" Brandon kissed my cheek and went into his room.

I went into my room and picked out an outfit to wear for the evening. I had this really cute black skater dress and a short denim jacket to go with. I jumped in the bath.

I soaked in the tub for 20 minutes and washed my hair. When I walked back into my room, in my underwear and saw Brandon sitting on my bed.

"Hey... Woah!" Brandon stood up and kept staring at me.

I screamed and ran back into the bathroom.

"Get out, Brandon!" I yelled.

"Right. I'm going out!" He yelled back.

I heard the door shut. I poked my head out the bathroom door and gingerly stepped out. I grabbed my clothes and ran back to the bathroom. I dressed and stuffed my hair in a low side ponytail. I stepped out and pulled on some combat boots. Someone knocked on the door.

"Come on in!" I said.

Brandon poked his head in. I turned bright red.

"Umm... Sorry about, umm... walking in on you and, umm... freaking you out..." He stuttered.

"Oh. Umm... Yeah, it's cool." I mumbled. He closed the door and took a seat on my beanbag.

We looked up at each other and smiled.

"Well, I guess it doesn't really matter. I was probably going to see all of _that_ sometime soon." Brandon winked.

"Uh,Perv!" I said and knocked him on his head lightly.

"You might be pretty but you are NOT getting away with that." He said and stood up.

"Maybe I am." I said cockily.

"We'll see about that."

"Bring it on!"

He chased me all around the room until finally I collapsed on my bed and Brandon caught up with me. He leaned in and kissed me.

"Gotcha." He smiled his gorgeous smile and I practically melted!

I giggled and went back to kissing him.

"Hey, you're friends are waiting outside for you gu- OH." Melanie stopped in the doorway when she saw us.

"Erm. I'll see you guys downstairs." She rushed out.

"I think we just gave your mom a heart attack." I whispered to him.

"Well, maybe we should just get out of here, then."

"Yeah... And also learn to use door locks."

I grabbed my phone and we ran down the stairs.


	14. I thought I did, too

We grabbed ice-cream at Frosty's and went to the skating rink.

"I have something for you." Brandon pulled me aside. The others were already on the rink.

He handed my a box. I looked at him and opened it up.

"Oh, my god! These are gorgeous!" I snuck a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much!"

"Glad you like 'em. Let's get you started." He made me put on my skates which were white and absolutely pretty.

He took my hand and we went to the rink.

"I'm holding on to you so don't worry and just take a step."

I nodded and gulped. I gingerly glided on my right foot. Then my left and my right again.

"Wow, this is easy."

"Mmhmm..."

We skated together for a bit and then we split up and just skated on and on. And then I crashed.

I'd bumped into someone else.

"Sorry." I stood up.

"Stella?" The person asked.

"Huh? Hold on, Mm-Matthew?!" I asked slowly.

"Come here!" He grinned and pulled me into a huge hug.

"Oh-" I said, confused. I pulled myself from his grasp.

"Stella..." I heard Brandon call my name and whipped my head around.

"Hey, Brandon this is Matthew, an old friend of mine. Matthew, Brandon." I introduced.

"Old friend? We used to date, remember?" Matthew chuckled.

What was this guy doing? We did NOT date!

"He's your ex?" Brandon asked. I couldn't read his emotions.

"Um... No. Matthew was just my Gran's neighbor." I explained.

"Aww, come on Stell. I gave you your first taste of everything." He winked at me suggestively.

"What?! Stella, is this true?" I could tell he was MAD.

I opened my mouth to deny it but my voice was lost. I was confused. What was going on?

"Well, that silence says everything."Brandon huffed and turned away.

"Oh, did I say something wrong?" Matthew asked sweetly.

"Of course you did! What are you trying to do? Matthew, listen I know you had this little crush on me a long time ago, when I was on vacation at my grandma's one summer but we didn't do _anything._ What do you want?" I demanded.

"That's easy enough, I want you, Stell." He put an arm around me.

I pushed his arm off.

"What?! Listen, I'm sorry but I don't think you're my type, okay? And anyway, I have a boyfriend." I walked away from him but he caught my wrist.

"Get your hands off me, you creep!" I shrieked and tried to pull away.

Musa heard me. She looked in my direction and saw Matthew. She raised her eyebrows at me and I shot her a helpless look. She grabbed Riven and walked up to me.

"Hey Stell... Oh, hi Matthew." She said.

"Oh, hi Musa." Matthew muttered and hesitantly let go of my hand.

I breathed.

"So, what are you doing here?" She asked him.

"Not much...Just visiting a few friends."

Musa nodded, unbelievingly. Riven stood there clueless. I almost burst out laughing.

"So, Stella, let's get going." Musa said promptly and linked her arm with mine. She gripped Riven's arm with her other hand and dragged us both off to the others.

Thank God for Musa!

"So, who is this guy?" Riven asked when we were out of Matthew's sight.

"Well, he's Matthew. Matthew has this thing for Stella. He's her grandma's neighbor, by the way. I met him during one Christmas that I spent with Stella's family at her gran's place." Musa told him.

"Right." Riven nodded briefly.

"What was he doing with you anyway?" Musa turned to me.

"Ugh. Don't ask. I bumped into him by accident and then Brandon saw us and came up to me and Matthew, being the wacko that he is made comments that made it seem like we were in a physical relationship and stuff..." Musa's eyebrows shot up into her bangs as I told her what happened.

"Whoa! Bad news. You'd better explain everything to Brandon right away." Musa said.

I nodded once.

The others were waiting for us at the parking lot.

Brandon turned away as soon as we came into view.

Ouch.

"Brandon, you have to trust me. There was NOTHING between me and Matthew. He was just making things up. I would have told you about him if anything was there to say, you have got to know that." I was literally begging him.

"Yeah, whatever. Just get in the car. I don't have time for this." He said coldly.

I stood rooted to the spot where I was.

Musa looked at me and then at Brandon.

"Brandon, Stella's telling the truth. Matthew just used to have a crush on her. It's no big de-"

"You don't have to defend her, Musa. I know what I saw." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"Dude, not cool." Riven shook his head.

Brandon held his hand up signalling him to stop. "Just get in the car. I have to take you home. Let's just go home." He told me.

"Bye, guys." I muttered and got in the car.

We drove home in total silence and even went to our rooms that way. Why was this happening to me? Just when I was feeling better...

I knocked on the wall where the hidden door was.

"Brandon, I know you're angry. But, please! You have to believe me. I thought you knew me better than this." My voice wobbled.

He opened the door a little. "I thought I did too." He spat and slammed the door in my face.


	15. Friendship's on loose threads

I woke up the next morning and was going to go see Brandon. And then I remembered.

My lips trembled and I tried not to cry as I got dressed and ready for school.

I went downstairs and saw Brandon at the breakfast counter. I noticed him roll his eyes.

"Morning, sweetie." Melanie rang out as she joined us in the kitchen.

"Morning." I mumbled.

She frowned at me.

"Is everything all right, sweetie?" She put an arm around me and sat me down at the table.

Brandon ducked out of the room.

"Ss-ss-Sure... Everything's just fine" I stuttered.

Melanie gave me a look.

"Well, Brandon and I had a little misunderstanding..." I mumbled.

"Oh... What happened?" She asked softly.

I told her what happened yesterday.

"I'll talk to Brandon... He'll come around." She got up.

"Melanie, I don't think you should. I mean, I'll try to fix this myself... I'll be fine." I assured her.

Melanie just smiled and nodded.

I chomped some toast and orange juice and was going to head out the door.

"Oh, um... Melanie? I need a ride." I said slowly.

"Sure, honey. I'll ask Brandon to take you." I looked at her "Stella, he may be mad at you but he still has to live with the fact that you are one of us now, okay?"

She went upstairs to find Brandon. The two of them came down in a few minutes.

"C'mon." Brandon grunted and walked out. I simply followed him.

We drove to school in silence.

"Thanks for the ride." I mumbled softly as we pulled into the parking lot.

I got out of the car and stalked off to find my friends.

I found Flora and Helia near the art room.

"Hi, guys!"

"Stella! Are you okay? After last night, I mean..." Helia asked and Flora gave me a hug.

"I'm okay, I guess? Brandon still hates my guts. It's just so unfair. One minute we're having so much fun and the next he doesn't even want to look in my direction...?" I sighed.

"I get what you're saying. I don't know why he's getting all worked up." Helia shook his head.

"Maybe it's because Matthew made it sound like we slept together or something, if you know what I mean." The bell rang.

"Well, we'd better get to class." Flora said and the three of us walked to Biology together.

The Biology teacher, Ms. Meyer walked in.

"Good Morning, class. Today I want you working in pairs. I'll be pairing you up."

She started reading out the pairs.

I got paired with Musa. Unfortunately, we were assigned to the same table as Brandon and Sky were.

We worked on our assignments in silence. Musa and Sky were giving us looks. This sucked!

I couldn't wait until class was over! And then Musa snapped.

"What is it with you two?!" She hissed. I looked up at her in surprise.

"Stella, you can't act dumb for ever. And you!" She pointed at Brandon. "You need to trust your girlfriend. I know you think I'm standing up for my friend but atleast I trust my friend well enough to know that she wouldn't go around sleeping with random people." I opened my mouth to protest but Brandon shut me up.

"I know what I saw. And she didn't even _try_ to deny it. It was pretty obvious." Brandon snapped.

"Right, so this is all about her not denying it? You are such a freak. You believe what some random creep said but you won't trust your girlfriend? Way to prioritize, Brandon." Musa said a the bell rang. She grabbed her bag and walked out.

"Musa!" I argued and went after her.

I caught up with her outside.

"What were you doing?" I demanded.

"Something I should have done before things got way out of proportion." She stated.

"Look, Muse, I know you're trying to help but... Brandon has a reason to be annoyed with me..." "Sure, go ahead and defend the guy that's hurting you so much." She growled and stalked off.

Great. Now my friends are getting worked up because of this. Just what I wanted. I went back inside.


	16. Princeton, here we come!

The school day was pretty boring. Brandon and I kept bumping into each other. It was mega-awkward.

I couldn't wait until school was over.

The last period was gym. We had to play basketball. I liked basketball. It was one of the few sports I DID like.

We got split into teams and we started off.

It was a pretty close call. My team won!

I walked out and got ready to go home. I grabbed my bag and walked into the parking lot.

I hadn't seen my friends since lunchtime. Brandon's car was still in the parking lot so I decided to wait for him near his car. I was walking over to his car when someone shouted.

"Stella, look out!" I turned around to see a car turning aroung the corner, dangerously close to me and before I could move, I blacked out.

When I woke up my head seared with pain. I sat up groggily. My body felt so heavy. I looked around. I was in the hospital and... Brandon was sitting right next to me (!). He was looking at me so intently, I felt my face burn up. And then he got up and pulled me to him for a hug.

"Ouch!" I squeaked as my arm hit the side of the hospital bed.

"Sorry." He said.

"It's okay." I smiled.

"Umm... The others were here last night but then we do have school so they left this morning...They'll be visiting soon, though. It's almost 5." He said.

"Last night?! How long have I been out?" I asked, shocked.

"Only for about a day, give or take a few hours." He shrugged.

"Oh, my god! What happened?"

"Umm... You got hit by a car?"

"No, I mean... How did I get here and stuff..."

"Oh, well I was there when you got hit by the car...?" He ran his fingers through his hair.

"You're the one who shouted my name out?" I asked. Brandon nodded and looked a little uncomfortable.

"Stella, I'm sorry for acting like a total jerk to you." He said. I noticed that he had tears in his eyes.

I took his hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Musa was right. I should've trusted you and not blindly believed what that guy said. I know I should've apologized to you a lot earlier and given my ego up but I didn't, and I'm sorry about that... I can't believe it took almost losing you to make me realize how stupid I was... I'm just so sorry." He looked at me, buried his face in my hands and cried.

"Brandon..." I said lifting his head up in my hands. "I don't blame you for whatever happened and I don't want you blaming yourself, either. And you can't get rid of me that easily, sorry to disappoint." He smiled weakly, "You're the only person I've ever loved, through all my life. And, if it makes you feel any better, I am a virgin."

He looked at me, wide-eyed.

"What?!" I asked.

"Stella Solaria, I swear, you have the creepiest sense of humor." Brandon shook his head and laughed. I threw a pillow at him.

"Be nice! I was just in an accident, you know!" I giggled.

"Sure, sure!" He laughed and put my hand to his lips.

He kissed my hand and said softly, "I love you, Stell."

"I love you, too." I murmured looking into his eyes.

And then, sure enough... We kissed. No surprise there.

We pulled away and heard whoops and cheers. We tore our eyes from each other and looked up.

Melanie, Rob and our friends were all there.

"Brandon Shields, I have to say... I'm proud of your apologizing skills." Musa remarked.

I laughed. Brandon glared at her, "How long have you been lurking here?"

"Long enough to hear you go all mushy." Riven grinned.

Brandon rolled his eyes.

"So, Stella... What do you think about going to Princeton with all your friends?" Rob asked.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Riven and I sent applications for all of us to Princeton." Musa said, not looking the least bit embarassed.

"And, we got mail this morning... Both of you got in!" Melanie grinned at us.

"So did we." The others spoke up, including Flora and Helia.

"I thought you guys were going to Yale..." Brandon said.

"Yeah, well... We got a full scholarship at Princeton and we took it when we found out that the rest of you were also going." Flora explained.

"Wow! This is amazing! I can't believe we're going to college together!" I squealed in my excitement.

Brandon chuckled and kissed my forehead.

I smiled and leaned on his chest.

Who knew hospital visits after accidents were filled with fulfillments of your wishes and dreams?

* * *

**A/N: So, here ends this story. I hope you guys liked it, send me requests for what you guys want and I'll try to do something about it. I love you guys, and I'm so happy you guys have given me so many good reviews so far. I'm really thankful for all the support and encouragement I've gotten from you guys! Thanks, once again! :) **


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